Manchester United face Como on Wednesday evening in their third Champions League tie of the season, having beaten Sabah FK 4-0 and lost to Atletico Madrid 2-0 so far. 

The Italian side, managed by former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas, has also won one and lost one in the competition this season. They beat RB Leipzig 4-1 in the first round and lost 3-2 to Feyenoord in the second. 

Como could be a tough test for Manchester United, who will be desperate for all three points if they want to keep their dreams of a top eight finish alive. A loss would likely see the Red Devils having to play a playoff game after Christmas if they are to progress through to the knockout stages. 

With several big calls to make, here is Roundtable’s predicted Manchester United XI to face Como. 

Between the sticks will, of course, be Senne Lammens, who made three saves at Elland Road last Sunday. Karl Darlow is fit and available, but his next appearance shouldn’t be until the FA Cup third round. 

The defence is the biggest point of concern for Carrick. Ayden Heaven missed the trip to Leeds United and was not pictured in training today; Lisandro Martínez was withdrawn at half-time last time out and also missed open training on Tuesday morning; and Leny Yoro is suspended after picking up a red card against Atletico Madrid. That leaves just Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt as senior central defenders for Carrick to choose from, though young Dan Armer is also likely to travel with the squad. 

Without any miracles, Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui will be the full-backs, given Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw also missed training ahead of the flight to Italy. 

In midfield, Carrick has more, but not plenty, to choose from. Kobbie Mainoo looks set to be absent again, leaving Carlos Baleba, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans as the favourites to start in central midfield. The head coach may stick with his recent pairing of Santos and Baleba, though Baleba has started the last two matches after a ligament injury and Mason Mount formed a solid partnership with Santos in pre-season. 

Bruno Fernandes has been struggling recently and looks to be tired before kick-off in most matches this season. With several tough games before the end of November, Carrick could take one of the few opportunities to rest the Manchester United captain. Tielemans and Matheus Cunha will be battling for the spot. 

Marcus Rashford was another to miss training on Tuesday, but his time on the pitch appears to be managed carefully due to his hip problem. Therefore, missing training doesn’t necessarily rule him out of the starting lineup. 

Amad and Bryan Mbeumo seem destined to continue on the right and striker, respectively, but Joshua Zirkzee could be in with a chance of starting after some decent cameos from the bench. 

Manchester United predicted XI vs Como: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire (C), De Ligt, Mazraoui; Santos, Mount; Amad, Tielemans, Cunha; Mbeumo.